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msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] bylaws concerning use / exclusion of stud horses

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  • From: Una Smith <una@lanl.gov>
  • To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] bylaws concerning use / exclusion of stud horses
  • Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 08:51:43 -0700

Okay, among the many differing points of view, I see some points
of agreement.

1. Do not make exceptions to rules. If the rules don't work,
or you don't like them, change the rules! Do not ignore them,
break them, or make exceptions to them.

2. Bad behavior is not to be tolerated in a MSAR horse of any
age, sex, or reproductive status. If the horse behaves badly or
may be expected to behave badly, leave the horse at home on SAR
mission or training days, or else expect to be sent back to base
camp and/or home (possibly along with the rest of your team!).

3. Consider a unit rule to ban stallions and/or mares or any
intact equine from any MSAR work. (FYI, spayed mares are fairly
common in England.) Base this decision on factors such as the
politics of the SAR management environment in which you serve,
the horsemanship skills of your riders, and what situations you
can expect to encounter during a mission.

If you make good use of #1 and #2 above, you may never need #3.

Yes, #3 sounds extreme. However, there are MSAR units and many
mounted police units that allow only geldings. FWIW, my unit
does not allow stallions, but other units we sometimes work with
do allow them (or have made exceptions to their own no-stallion
rule?), and it is very common for us to encounter large numbers
(think many dozen) spontaneous volunteers on all kind of horses.
It would be nice for us to be able to forget about the potential
for horsey conflicts and fully engage in "tunnel vision" on the
SAR job at hand. But we do not operate in such a universe! We
do not tie our horses anywhere without considering if it is safe,
and if it is likely to *stay* safe, and what might make it not
safe, yadda yadda. It is important that our mares and geldings
all will remain calm and well-mannered in the presence of studs
or whatever. Which means we expose them to as much as possible
in training situations.

For those of you who have asked: I ride a mare, and I generally
prefer mares to geldings. But I also choose to ride a mare with
impeccable manners under saddle, on the ground, and when turned
out with other horses.

Hope this helps,

Una Smith
Santa Fe County Sheriff's Posse, in New Mexico




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